Détours · The Archive
The Archive
Every piece we have published, newest first.
All pieces
38 piecesLong Read
The Year in Travel 2024: Ha Giang, Capella, and Linda's 30th
2024 in travel: 32 days total, two major trips (Hong Kong/Vietnam at £6,400 for two, Crete at £900 each), smaller European weekends…
Long Read
What We Pack for a Month Away: The Complete List
Packing for 30 days in Asia: one checked bag each (23kg), cabin bag survives 24 hours independently. Alexander: 8 t-shirts, 2 linen shirts,…
Long Read
Our Favourite Hotels Under £100 a Night
Hotels and apartments under £100 a night, from nine years of travel. The pattern: location first, breakfast included second, everything…
Long Read
Travel as a Couple: What Works and What Almost Ended Us
Nine years of couple travel distilled: split decisions by category (Linda does food, Alexander does transport, both do accommodation),…
Long Read
Why We Keep Going Back to Hong Kong
Hong Kong is the rare city worth visiting twice. The food density (Tim Ho Wan, Australian Dairy Company, wonton noodles at Mak's), the…
Long Read
Best Coffee Shops in Every City We've Visited: The Running List
The running list across 14 cities: Bangalore (Third Wave Coffee Roasters), Bangkok (Roots at The Commons), Barcelona (Nomad Coffee), Chania…
Long Read
Motorcycle Rentals in Asia: Everything We've Learned in 9 Years
Nine years of motorcycle rentals across SE Asia: get a UK motorcycle licence before your first trip (the 200 baht bribe is fine, the crash…
Long Read
The Dogs at Dinner and the Doormen Who Knew Our Names
Three beds in Vietnam. The Phoenix Hotel in Ha Giang. A homestay on the loop where the host's dogs slept under the dinner table. The…
Long Read
Every Trip We Take Starts as a Google Doc
Every trip we take starts as a Google Doc that runs forty to eighty hours before we leave. Thesis, budget, itinerary, restaurant lists…
Review
The KTX Train from Seoul to Busan: A Bullet Train Review
The KTX from Seoul to Busan: 2 hours 42 minutes, no airport security, walk-on walk-off. Sit on the right for the Suwon rice-paddy corridor.…
Review
Ten Friends, an Olive Oil Producer, and a Villa in Western Crete
For my 30th we rented a villa in the hills above Chania for four nights with ten friends. Two stone houses connected by a courtyard and a…
Review
The Hoxton Paris vs Amsterdam: Same Brand, Two Cities, One Winner
Two Hoxton stays compared. Paris in Sentier (€289/night, 18sqm Cosy room, DJ Friday, croissants included) and the Hoxton Lloyd in…
Review
How Getting PADI Certified Changed the Way I Travel
PADI Open Water in the UK costs £625 across two weekends: a pool day, then two half-days at Vobster Quay. Advanced Open Water in East Bali…
Review
Halong Bay Cruise Review: We Paid £525, Here's What That Bought Us
An overnight cruise in Halong Bay. The kayak hour through limestone karsts at sunset was the best part. The cabin was hotel-quality. The…
Food
Lisbon Food Guide: Beyond Pastel de Nata
Six days of eating in Lisbon: Loco for the 15-course tasting menu (book six weeks ahead), Coelho da Rocha for bacalhau à brás, Café de São…
Food
The Amsterdam Breakfast Crawl: Six Stops, One Morning
Six-stop Amsterdam breakfast crawl in five hours: Patisserie Kuyt for appelschnitt, Grammes for cured-fish toast on rye, Eetsalon van…
Itinerary
A Long Weekend in Barcelona: Linda's Birthday Edition
Four days in Barcelona for a birthday. Sagrada Família at 3pm, a rented Vespa through the Eixample, Parc Güell from the upper gate, natural…
Itinerary
El Nido to Coron by Boat: Four Days on a Palawan Bangka
A four-day, three-night liveaboard from El Nido to Coron on a wooden bangka outrigger. £450 per person all-inclusive: 20 passengers, tents…
Itinerary
Japan by Train: Three Weeks from Tokyo to Okinawa
Three weeks in Japan: 7 nights in Tokyo (Tsuta ramen, the Ghibli Museum, Fox Village), a Hakone ryokan with kaiseki, 4 nights in Kyoto by…
Itinerary
Hong Kong and Vietnam in 18 Days: Budget to Luxury in One Trip
Eighteen days across Hong Kong and Vietnam: Tim Ho Wan, Dragon's Back, the Ha Giang motorcycle loop, an overnight Halong Bay cruise where…
Itinerary
Three Weeks in Southeast Asia: Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia
Three countries, 23 days: Singapore for hawker centres, Cebu and Moalboal for the sardine run, Bohol for the Chocolate Hills, El Nido to…
Itinerary
India for First-Timers: Bangalore to Goa in 16 Days
Sixteen days, five Indian cities: Bangalore for dosas at MTR, Delhi for Karim's mutton burra, Jaipur's Pink City and Amber Fort, the Taj…
BelemDay Trip
Belem in an Afternoon: Pasteis, Monasteries, and LX Factory
Belém is a 35-minute tram ride from central Lisbon on the 15E. Pastéis de Belém (sit in the back, skip the queue), Jerónimos Monastery…
Food
Taipei Night Markets Ranked: Raohe, Shilin, Ningxia, Tonghua
Four Taipei night markets, ranked: 1. Raohe (pepper buns at Fuzhou Shi Zu, 25-minute queue, 60 NTD, the best street food bite in Taiwan),…